Box Score SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Portland men's tennis team battled but came up short in a 4-1 loss to top-seeded and No. 30 ranked San Diego in Friday's semifinals of the 2023 West Coast Conference Championships at the Aztec Tennis Center.

The Pilots close the season with a 12-10 overall record, while the Toreros advance to face Pepperdine in Saturday's finals.

Portland senior Sema Pankin fittingly won his final match in a Pilot uniform. Pankin, the WCC Co-Player of the Year, posted a 6-4, 6-4 against Oliver Tarvet at the top of the singles lineup.

Portland dropped a close doubles point as San Diego won 6-3 at No. 2 and then held on in a tiebreaker at No. 1 to clinch.

The remaining singles matches all were very competitive. The Toreros took No. 6 singles in straight sets. San Diego's No. 84-ranked Iiro Vasa held off Pilot senior Eleftherios Neos 7-6, 6-4 at No. 2 and Marvin Schaber defeated Maxim Groysman 7-6, 7-5 at No. 5 to clinch.

The two unfinished matches were in tight battles in the third set with Portland's Nicolas Ocana up a break against Sacchitt Sharrma at No. 3 and Nikolas Tvedt on serve against Stian Klassen at No. 4.

"I'm really proud of the effort today," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "We have had a long few weeks and had to win several important matches just to get to this point. After we lost the doubles today, my expectations were not high, but we competed really well in singles. I was especially proud of Max, Tvedt and Ocana in staying in their matches and giving themselves a chance right to the end. We knew we needed a special effort today to give ourselves a chance for a result and I think we did that. San Diego is just a better team and the doubles point obviously turned out to be big."
 
The Pilots will lose their core of Pankin, Neos and Yoshida who have been regulars in the lineup for the last five years. Portland will bring back many experienced players next season including Tvedt, Ocana Groysman and Oscar Brown, as well as rising sophomores Cade Fernando and Fabian Gusic. The Pilots also announced the signings of incoming freshman Stefan Skobelev and Tannor Binder as reinforcements.

#30 San Diego 4, Portland 1
San Diego, Calif. (Aztec Tennis Center)
April 28, 2023

Singles
1. #101 Sema Pankin (POR) def. Oliver Tarvet (USD) 6-4, 6-4
2. #84 Iiro Vasa (USD) def. Eleftherios Neos (POR) 7-6 (5), 6-4
3. Nicolas Ocana (POR) vs. Sacchitt Sharrma (USD) 7-6 (4), 1-6, 2-0, unfinished
4. Nikolas Tvedt (POR) vs. Stian Klaassen (USD) 4-6, 6-4, 2-3, unfinished
5. Marvin Schaber (USD) def. Maxim Groysman (POR) 7-6 (4), 7-5
6. Neo Niedner (USD) def. Issa Yoshida (POR) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles
1. Sharrma/Vasa (USD) def. Pankin/Neos (POR) 7-6 (5)
2. Klaassen/Tarvet (USD) def. Ocana/Tvedt (POR) 6-3
3. Cade Fernando/Yoshida (POR) vs. Schaber/Ruland (USD) 4-4, unfinished

Match Notes:
Portland 12-10
San Diego 17-6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,1,2,5)